Nicola Sturgeon prioritises second indyref before another Brexit vote

Nicola Sturgeon has revealed her priority is to secure a re-run of the 2014 independence referendum before a second Brexit vote should Labour win the next general election.

Quizzed yesterday at First Minister’s Questions in Holyrood about her statement that Scots should prepare for two referendums next year, Scots Tory leader Jackson Carlaw, asked what the timings of the two votes.

Mr Carlaw said: “I’m just not sure the First Minister has thought through her big double referendum promise. As she keeps telling us, she would ask Jeremy Corbyn for a referendum on independence and demand it’s held next year. And we know too that she would support Mr Corbyn’s plan for a second Brexit referendum

also to be held next year.

“When is all this supposed to happen? Both referendums on the one day or different days? Which vote would come first - indyref, Euroref - which?”

Ms Sturgeon said: “My priority is to give the people of Scotland the opportunity to choose independence next year and I look forward to delivering on that.”

Mr Carlaw said Ms Sturgeon’s response proved her “priority used to be education, now it’s independence” and said none her proposals “made sense”.

“Not only is she going to demand a second independence referendum as well as supporting a second Brexit referendum, she’s also telling people she’s going to help form, what she grandly describes as a progressive alliance, with other parties across the UK,” he said. “That’s the same UK she hopes to leave weeks later... how do you form an alliance with the same people you’re going to walk out on weeks later?”

Reiterating that her choice between either an independence or Brexit referendum was the former, Ms Sturgeon said it had been David Cameron who had “foisted” the EU referendum on Scotland. She added: “I would want to be part of a progressive alliance - to lock Tories out of government in Westminster.

“Why? Because Tories wreak misery and havoc. It’s a year today since Theresa May presented her Brexit deal to her Cabinet, unleashing a year of chaos and division at the hands of the Tories - welfare cuts, austerity, pushing more children into poverty, no right minded person in this country would want anything other than an alternative to that Tory misery.”

But Mr Carlaw dismissed the First Minister’s words as “complete nonsense”, and pointed to a TV interview by SNP MP David Linden, who he said “revealed even if UK stayed in EU after a second vote the SNP would yet come up with yet more reasons for a grievance rematch on independence anyway everyone knows we would be doing the indyref forever.”

But Ms Sturgeon said: “I believe Scotland will vote for independence when it comes to indyref2 so he need not worry about any further occasions.”